Great Canadian Suburban Skyline Thread!

[Chadillaccc]

The two tallest are currently under construction, they are the two tallest buildings in that photo. Out of frame, the new current tallest building was just completed a month ago, it is called the Chancellor and I believe it is about 120 meters tall. The two UC are 141 meters and 156 meters.


However, apparently in Brentwood (a separate major skyline/neighbourhood) a new tallest was just started, it will be 184 meters tall and is called "Altus," and is a mixed use office/residential/retail tower.

[vanman]

Props to Klazu!

Originally Posted by Klazu

Brentwood vs. Metrotown - which has the better skyline now and in the future?





My take is that Metrotown has a better skyline now, but in the future Brentwood will have better, more clustered, skyline.

Another, slightly zoomed-in, angle on Metrotown.

[ssiguy]

Vancouver has done an excellent job of gearing high density developments around SkyTrain stations.

[Chadillaccc]

They have for sure, i love it! I'm glad to see Calgary embracing the TOD development style as well.

[Architype]

Those are amazing shots of Burnaby, too bad you can't really see the new Metrotower III from that angle though.

[Chadillaccc]

Here's an interesting article about Exurbanity in Montreal:


Exurban growth in Montreal region is worst in country

From 2006 to 2011, the exurban population in the Montreal metropolitan region jumped by 14 per cent, or about 18,500 people, to 149,661.

By comparison, the exurban population of Toronto grew by seven per cent, or 10,000 people. In Vancouver, it increased by four per cent, or 6,000 people.

But that doesn’t tell the whole story. Over those five years, urban sprawl was kept in check in Toronto somewhat, with 52,000 people moving into the city core where condo towers now abound, and another 25,000 people moving to “transit-oriented” suburbs — communities where residents can take the train into the city rather than drive by car.

In Vancouver, a total of 48,000 people moved to the city’s “active core” — where they could bike or walk to work, if they wanted — as well as to the transit-oriented suburbs.

In contrast, the population of Montreal’s active core and the transit suburbs increased by only 6,800 in total.

full story: http://www.montrealgazette.com/busin...348/story.html

[Jimby]

North Vancouver by LUMIN8, on Flickr

[LeftCoaster]

Nice pic! NV doesn't get any love on this forum but the backdrop is just spectacular.

[Chadillaccc]

An incredible Westbrook photo by Boris2K7!


26th Street LRT by RemotelyBoris, on Flickr

[Chadillaccc]

Here's a couple of the Southland/Heritage skyline cluster. By me.





and the clusters around Chinook...

[M.R.Victor]

I think this may be counter to the intention of the thread, but all I get from these photos is that largely, in spite of some noble intentions to add density via high-rises, Canadian suburbs are quite dull and dreary places. What's they point of having suburban downtowns if they're not... more... downtown like? Especially when they deploy close to none of the things that make downtowns work?


It really reminds me of the Simpsons. We've tried nothing and we're fresh out of ideas




But perhaps I'm wrong. Are there any suburban downtowns that function very much like traditional downtowns? Good mixed use, small and large retail, tightly packed housing, a good mix of jobs and residents, good transit connections? I certainly can't come up with any.

[niwell]

Originally Posted by M.R.Victor

But perhaps I'm wrong. Are there any suburban downtowns that function very much like traditional downtowns? Good mixed use, small and large retail, tightly packed housing, a good mix of jobs and residents, good transit connections? I certainly can't come up with any.

Depends if you are looking for downtowns "from scratch", or the historic cores of cities that have been swallowed by the suburbs. If it's the former then I'm not so sure - the latter, definitely, with varying degrees of success.

I'm only really familiar with the GTA but I would say that downtown Burlington is one of the better examples. Oakville is good as well, but can be a bit too upscale to be considered fully functional (it does have jobs though). The only problem with these is they function as nice downtowns of places with maybe ~50,000, not 150,000.


Port Credit and Whitby also come to mind as ok examples, though they may be lacking in the jobs and transit department. I'm hesitant to include Oshawa as it's closer to a stand-alone city, and the rest of the older downtowns are more or less relegated to retail uses. Also not counting North York or Toronto's other centres as I think they are a different beast entirely.

Of the "new" downtowns I have mixed feelings about Mississauga City Centre. It has potential but the original built form was awful and the long-term plans have to accommodate this. I'm interested to see what happens with downtown Markham in the next decade or so. This was truly from scratch and on paper looks a lot better, but so far it's a bit monotonous.

[Chadillaccc]

A couple if examples in Metro Vancouver would be New Westminster of course (very arguably Canada's most urban suburb), and Metrotown. Both have good or half decent urban design and planning, at least one street packed with street front retail, interesting architecture, tons of office space, and very high population density.

New Westminster has the distinction of being older than its core city though, which is quite unique among suburbs. Also the fact that it was the original capital of mainland BC adds to that. Ive lived in both Metrotown and New West and they could easily pass for major cities in their own right. Metrotown still has a bit of a way to go, but they're getting there very quickly.


Also, while the ones in Calgary may be unappealing at present, that doesn't mean they will be forever. They are still in infancy with new towers and new ideas always coming in. London at Heritage Station is a good example, as is the potential of that stretch of Macleod Trail.

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

New Westminster has the distinction of being older than its core city though, which is quite unique among suburbs.

Quite unique, but not super unique. At one point Ancaster was larger than Hamilton or Toronto. (It currently has pretty well no urban fabric though.)

[WhipperSnapper]

Metrotown is a bunch of towers in a park anchored by a mall with a lrt station. It's prettier than MCC (point vs slab and decked parking vs acres of surface parking) however, hardly what I'd call a downtown. Never being to New West.

[Jimby]

I like how Lower Lonsdale in North Vancouver is evolving into a downtown, although the population on the North Shore is low compared to other cities in Metro Vancouver.

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

Metrotown is a bunch of towers in a park anchored by a mall with a lrt station. It's prettier than MCC (point vs slab and decked parking vs acres of surface parking) however, hardly what I'd call a downtown. Never being to New West.

What are you talking about? Have you ever even been or walked around for any length of time there? Having spent an hour or two in the mall doesn't count. Also, since when is the Skytrain an LRT? Are we really that desperate to grasp at straws just to put other places down?

Kingsway is an entire street of streetfront retail through metrotown. There's no park anywhere near the mall, except Central Park about a km away (gorgeous park btw), and as I said, it's not quite there yet, but it is getting there fast. With Sovereign, Station Square, Metroplace, the Metrotower Complex, Chancellor, the redevelopment of the parking lot of The Bay, there's no doubting Metrotown's plan and capability to become one of the most urban suburbs in the country. Especially considering it already has an entire street with brick faced pedestrian scale older buildings full of retail and opportunities for beautification running straight through it.

Originally Posted by Jimby

I like how Lower Lonsdale in North Vancouver is evolving into a downtown, although the population on the North Shore is low compared to other cities in Metro Vancouver.

Me too man. Pretty much all of Lonsdale is great. Would be cool if they built a tram up the hill to make it more accessible too! Hopefully one day! The Quay is my favorite place down there. We always used to go to the East Side Mario's there! Yummm

[Boris2k7]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

Metrotown is a bunch of towers in a park anchored by a mall with a lrt station. It's prettier than MCC (point vs slab and decked parking vs acres of surface parking) however, hardly what I'd call a downtown. Never being to New West.

Same can be said for anything outside of the core in Calgary. We are getting some pretty good concentrations of towers, but there's nothing that functions as a second downtown... yet.

I have some hopes for Manchester Industrial accomplishing this somewhere down the line (it already has some affordable housing, major retail, a concentration of offices and light industrial, some social services, an LRT station -- two if you include 39th -- and an ARP/SAP that is very development-minded).

[WhipperSnapper]

I've spent a couple hours exploring it. Honestly, l think a couple hours is more than enough for an impression. To clarify, towers in a park implies single use highrise apartments surrounded by useless landscaping and not towers built in an actual park. Kingsway retail is quite fragmented. Oakville, Burlington, Port Credit, etc. Each has a low to midrise commercial main street surrounded by towers. It's not uncommon for most city centres that developed over time rather than a master planned green field development . MCC still has it's fair share of ground floor retail and is also rapidly urbanizing with several multi-phased developments encompassing dozens of towers just like everywhere else.

It was not intentional to offend by calling the Skytrain LRT. The reasoning is that Skytrain was originally built to market UTDC's ICTS/ALRT system to the world. It didn't quite work as planned and UTDC's technology was eventually purchased by Bombardier. Most in Toronto don't consider our SRT as a metro line in light of or subway.

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

What are you talking about? Have you ever even been or walked around for any length of time there? Having spent an hour or two in the mall doesn't count. Also, since when is the Skytrain an LRT? Are we really that desperate to grasp at straws just to put other places down?

Kingsway is an entire street of streetfront retail through metrotown. There's no park anywhere near the mall, except Central Park about a km away (gorgeous park btw), and as I said, it's not quite there yet, but it is getting there fast. With Sovereign, Station Square, Metroplace, the Metrotower Complex, Chancellor, the redevelopment of the parking lot of The Bay, there's no doubting Metrotown's plan and capability to become one of the most urban suburbs in the country. Especially considering it already has an entire street with brick faced pedestrian scale older buildings full of retail and opportunities for beautification running straight through it.




Me too man. Pretty much all of Lonsdale is great. Would be cool if they built a tram up the hill to make it more accessible too! Hopefully one day! The Quay is my favorite place down there. We always used to go to the East Side Mario's there! Yummm

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by niwell

I'm only really familiar with the GTA but I would say that downtown Burlington is one of the better examples. Oakville is good as well, but can be a bit too upscale to be considered fully functional (it does have jobs though). The only problem with these is they function as nice downtowns of places with maybe ~50,000, not 150,000.

Agree with the last sentence. They're both nice and "downtownie" but could be more for the size of city they're within.

Downtown Burlington has a lot of boutique retail and restaurants, but it lacks larger stores (which it will never get with one large regional mall only 5 minutes away, and another mall a bit more distant in another direction). There are several condo developments with more on the way, and a few rental buildings, and there is a cluster of apartment towers close by. There are also some townhouse strips, and many beautiful older homes just a block off the main streets. But employment-wise it's also lacking - a few modest office buildings to go with houses converted to professional offices and other businesses. Most of Burlington's employment, including office employment, is concentrated along the QEW.

There's a lot of potential for intensification, but I think there are many who live in the downtown area who would oppose that.